In this article, we are going to talk about the features you must consider when buying a dash cam. But first let’s answer the basic question: What is a dash camera? Well, a dash camera is a camera device that attaches to your car and records the road in front of you.

But why would you want a recording of the road? Let’s say you drive a lot of busy highways and you are worried about getting involved in an accident. Dash camera is a great idea! Let’s say you are worried about your car being parked and what’s going on while it’s parked – also a great idea to own a dash camera. Let’s say you are concerned about other people who drive your car – a definitely great idea to get a dash camera! Bottom line, a dash camera helps you by capturing video evidence when you need.

What makes a camera a dash camera?

There are certain features that apply to all dash cameras that regular cameras or mobile phone cameras definitely do not have. The most important feature is loop recording. Loop recording ensures that your memory card will never fill up. Being in an accident and losing the footage because of a full memory card would be a disaster. Loop recording regularly overwrites older video files and replaces them with newer ones. this way, you only have the latest few hours of footage available. if you need to view the footage, you simply remove the memory card and copy the file over to your PC.

Another feature when finding the best dash cams is auto on and off. What this does is that allows the camera automatically turn on and start recording when you turn the vehicle on, then it will automatically turn off when you turn the vehicle off. this allows you to consistently get the footage you need without having to manually power the camera up and down every time you are traveling.

Dash cameras are very easy to install, they usually don’t require a professional. You simply take the camera and attach it to the mount. then attach the mount to the windshield. After that, you simply hook up the power adapter to the 12V port in your car and you are done. Most dash cameras have alternate mounting solutions available, depending on your personal preference or vehicle layout.

There is a thing that almost all dash cameras require and which is usually not included in the box and that’s going to be a memory card. Each dash camera will have its own memory capacity limit and memory size that will determine for how long you can record before the camera starts looping.

What other features you must look at when you choose a dash camera?

Let’s say you live in a rural area without extensive street lighting. You’re going to take a look at a camera with impressive low-light video performance. It would let you get the footage any clearly even in those darker situations. Let’s say you’re somebody whose car remains parked for a long period of time. What you’re definitely going to take a look at is a camera with a dedicated parking mode. Let’s say you live in a part of the country or somewhere in the world with extremely cold winters and very hot summers. Might be a good idea to take a look at a camera with a capacitor rather than a battery. This will prevent battery failures during those extreme temperatures. Some cameras have a much more sleek design than the others and these cameras and they are perfect for somebody who wants a camera with a really small physical footprint. Some cameras come with GPS modules and this is great for a company car or any other situations when you need to know where the car has been. And if you are interested in what’s happening behind the car or in the cab, it might be a good idea to take a look at a dual-lens dash camera, as they can record both forward and rear views.